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William Shakespeare
Life and Times
• Christened: 26 April 1564
• Died: 23 April 1616
• Birthday celebrated 23 April
• His grandfather was a tenant farmer
• His father John Shakespeare was a glovemaker and leatherworker
• His mother was Mary Arden
Mary Arden’s house
Shakespeare birthplace in Stratford
• Was allowed to go to a free grammar school
• Went on to a higher school, but never university
• At age 18, 1582, he married Anne Hathaway
• First child Susannah, 1583
• Twins, Judith and Hamnet, 1585
• Drops out of all public records for 7 years
Anne Hathaway’s cottage
• The “lost years,” 1585-1592
• Was Shakespeare a recusant?
• John Shakespeare’s profession of faith
• Catholic connection between Stratford and Lancashire
• William Shakeshafte
• Other Evidence
Hoghton Castle Gate
In London
• Robert Greene’s Groatsworth of Wit
• Other London playwrights
• By 1592 he had made his mark as a playwright
• Never saw his plays through the press
• Plays were the property of playhouses
• “Memorial reconstruction”
Playhouses
• James Burbage built the first: the Theatre• The Curtain soon sprang up• The Globe• Shakespeare a member of the Lord
Chamberlain’s Men• Wrote on average 2 plays a year for public
performance• Private theatres • Performed before Queen Elizabeth 3 times a year
The Globe Theatre(Wenceslaus Hollar, 1647)
Visscher’s long view of London: Bankside and playhouses (1616)
New Globe reconstruction
New Globe stage reconstruction
The King’s Men
• When Queen Elizabeth died, Shakespeare became a member of the King’s Men
• Played 13 or 14 times a year• Acquired an indoor theatre, Blackfriars• Rivals were the Admiral’s Men• Their best actor was Edward Alleyn• Henslowe and his “Diary”
Later Years
• In 1597 he bough the second best house in Stratford
• Received a coat of arms for his father
• Retired from the stage and lived his last years in Stratford
• Died in 1616
The First Folio
• In 1623 was produced by his actor friends
• Some plays had been published in Quarto form
• Some quartos are good, some bad
• Some plays exist only in the First Folio
The Historical Context
I. The Reformation
The Reformation
• Luther in Germany (1483-1546)• Calvin in Geneva (1509-1572)• Zwingli in Zurich (1484-1531)• John Knox in Scotland (1512-1572)
Martin Luther (1483-1546)
Jean Calvin (1509-1564)
Ulrich Zwingli (1484-1531)
John Knox (1512-1572)
Reformation principles
• Advocated:– General use and authority of the Scriptures– Justification by faith alone
• Repudiated:– Doctrine of Transubstantiation– Worship of the Virgin Mary– Supremacy of the Pope
Historical Context
Tudor England
Tudor Monarchs
• Refers to monarchs from 1485-1603• Henry VII• Henry VIII• Edward VI• Mary I• Elizabeth I • Centralized or Absolute monarchy• Their claim to the throne was shaky
Tudor Genealogy
Descendants of Henry VII
Henry VII (1457-1485)
Henry VIII (1491-1547)
Katherine of Aragon (1485-1536), mother of Mary I
Anne Boleyn (1500?-1536),mother of Elizabeth I
Jane Seymour (1509-1537)mother of Edward VI
Edward VI as a child
Edward VI as king (1537-1553)
Mary I (1516-1558)
Henry VIII and Family
Elizabeth I (1533-1603) the Rainbow Portrait
Elizabeth I, the Phoenix Portrait
Elizabeth I, the Armada Portrait